---
title: "chris 21 Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra"
description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about chris 21 Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Human Resources products and more."
source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/38720/chris-21/"
page_type: "product"
language: "en"
publication_date: "2026-10-19"
---

# 

 chris 21 Software Review 2026: Features, Reviews, Integrations, Pros & Cons

Last updated on October 19, 2026

Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team.

[Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews)

chris 21

## What is chris 21?

Established in 1983, Frontier Software provides a global HR & Payroll software solution. Our software is called ichris - (International Comprehensive Human Resource Integrated Software) and it sets the benchmark for Human Capital Management software. Frontier Software provides HCM solutions and services to over 1,700 customers in 26 countries. Payroll Services are offered from our global offices in Australia, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and the UK. A perfect solution.

## What is chris 21 used for?

[Talent Management](https://www.capterra.com/talent-management-software/)[Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/payroll-software/)[Human Resources](https://www.capterra.com/human-resource-software/)

Top alternative

Featured

Overall rating

Based on 4 user reviews

Reviews sentiment

Positive

\-

Neutral

\-

Negative

\-

Starting price

A$0.01

Flat Rate, Per Month

Free trial  
not available

Free version not included

Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products...

Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings...

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Do you work for chris 21?[Manage this product listing](https://www.g2.com/products/chris-21/claim_requests/new?auto=true)

## Compare with a popular alternative

Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status.

### chris 21

4.3 (4)

VS.

[4.3 (1,982)](https://www.capterra.com/p/86714/WebPay/reviews/)

Starting Price

A$0.01

Flat Rate, Per Month

Starting Price

Contact vendor

Free Trial

Free Version

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

Ease Of Use

4.5 (4)

Ease Of Use

4.3 (1,981)

Value For Money

4.0 (2)

Value For Money

4.2 (1,634)

Customer Service

3.5 (2)

Customer Service

4.1 (1,709)

## chris 21 alternatives

[4.6 (1,268)](https://www.capterra.com/p/226634/CEIPAL-ATS/reviews/)

Starting price

$25.00

Per User, Per Month

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

96%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

[4.5 (1,779)](https://www.capterra.com/p/66908/Workday-HCM/reviews/)

Starting price

Contact vendor for pricing

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

90%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

[4.4 (1,400)](https://www.capterra.com/p/130949/Paycom/reviews/)

Starting price

Contact vendor for pricing

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

87%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

Highest Rated

[4.9 (4,886)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172127/Rippling/reviews/)

Starting price

$8.00

Per User, Per Month

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

98%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

## FAQs about chris 21

Overview

### What company size and specific industries is chris 21 built for?

chris 21 is designed for organizations in the public, private, and third sectors across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Far East. It suits teams ranging from 50 to 80,000 employees, making it a fit for small to large enterprises in those sectors.

Features and Usability

### What are the key features of chris 21?

chris 21 offers payroll management with direct deposit, payroll reporting, tax compliance, and wage garnishment, plus HR tools such as employee database, employee profiles, and employee management. It also includes applicant tracking, recruitment management, onboarding, performance management, time tracking, vacation/leave tracking, compensation management, and reporting/analytics.

Getting Started and Support

### What training and onboarding options does chris 21 offer?

chris 21 provides in person training, live online sessions, webinars, and documentation to help teams get started. In person and live online options support guided instruction, webinars offer scheduled group learning, and documentation gives written reference material for self-paced review and ongoing feature checks.

Getting Started and Support

### What customer support options does chris 21 offer?

chris 21 provides 24/7 live rep support and chat. These channels give users direct access to help at any time. No reviewer feedback on support experience is available here, so no claims can be made about response times, helpfulness, or common frustrations.

## Features

AI summary

Based on 18,203 Human Resources reviews

Capterra data shows that buyers of payroll software rank the following features as their top priorities:

-   **Payroll Management** (**59%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical)
-   **Direct Deposit** (**58%**)
-   **Payroll Reporting** (**51%**)

chris 21 supports all three features that reviewers rate highest: **Payroll Management**, **Direct Deposit**, and **Payroll Reporting**. Together, these capabilities help businesses process pay accurately, deliver wages on time through direct deposit, and track payroll data for compliance and planning, allowing teams to manage payroll operations with greater accuracy and control.

Compensation Management

4.0 (2)

50.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important

Manages compensation such as salary, bonus, and benefits processes, aligning with policies

Employee Management

3.0 (1)

100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important

Track employee schedules, availability, and performance across projects and tasks

Employee Profiles

3.0 (1)

100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important

Centralized storage for employee data, records, and performance metrics

Recruitment Management

5.0 (1)

0.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important

Tools to find, assess, and hire suitable candidates for a job within an organization

Reporting/Analytics

3.0 (1)

100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important

View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data

API

Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases

chris 21 27 features

### All Features
- API: Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases
- Applicant Tracking: Find and manage potential candidates and their applications and resumes through the recruiting life cycle
- Compensation Management: Manages compensation such as salary, bonus, and benefits processes, aligning with policies
- Competency Management: Catalog, manage, and develop employee skill sets
- Direct Deposit: Digitally deposit correct payroll amounts into individual employee's bank accounts
- Employee Database: Electronic storage of staff/employee contact information and job status in a centralized repository
- Employee Management: Track employee schedules, availability, and performance across projects and tasks
- Employee Onboarding: Process of familiarizing new employees with the company, their position, and responsibilities
- Employee Profiles: Centralized storage for employee data, records, and performance metrics
- Goal Setting/Tracking: Establish measurable goals and objectives and track their progress over a specific period of time
- Individual Development Plans: Document completed by employee to assist with career and personal development to reach short term and long term goals
- Multi-Country: Pay employees in multiple countries using correct currencies and correct tax deduction amounts
- Multi-State: Pay employees in multiple states with correct tax deduction amounts in each
- Onboarding: Process of familiarizing new clients, stakeholders or employees with the company, a new location, or a service
- Payroll Management: Manage employee salary processes, data, taxes, and records administration efficiently
- Payroll Outsourcing: Delegate payroll processing to third party vendors
- Payroll Reporting: View and track payroll metrics including tax liabilities, pay rates, working hours, deductions and more
- Performance Management: Organize and manage the accomplishments and development of employees or performance of applications or systems
- Recruitment Management: Tools to find, assess, and hire suitable candidates for a job within an organization
- Reporting/Analytics: View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data
- Self Service Portal: Online portal through which end users can access the system, manage tasks, or obtain information
- Succession Planning: Planning, tracking and developing internal talent for future key position filling
- Tax Compliance: Track tax-related transactions, tax remittance and tax reporting for various groups of employees and contractors
- Time Tracking: Measure and track time including hours worked and paid time off (PTO)
- Training Management: Track employee/learner's progression through training programs
- Vacation/Leave Tracking: Request, track, and manage time off requests and vacation time
- Wage Garnishment: Automatically subtract garnishments from wages

---

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Features

4.3 (4)

4.3

Based on 4 reviews

## Pricing

Value for money

4.0 (2)

Basic

A$0.01

Flat Rate,Per Month

Value for money

4.0 (2)

4.0

Based on 2 reviews

Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation

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## Support, customer service and training options

Customer Service

3.5 (2)

Support

-   Email/Help Desk
-   FAQs/Forum
-   Knowledge Base
-   Phone Support
-   24/7 (Live rep)
-   Chat

Training

-   In Person
-   Live Online
-   Webinars
-   Documentation
-   Videos

Deployment

-   Web
-   Android
-   iPhone/iPad

Typical users

-   Freelancers
-   Small businesses
-   Mid size businesses
-   Enterprises

Customer Service

3.5 (2)

3.5

Based on 2 reviews

## User reviews

Overall rating

4.3

Based on 4 reviews

Filter by rating

Counts reflect reviews available in this feed.

5(2)

4(1)

3(1)

2(0)

1(0)

Mentioned topic

Recent reviews first, then most helpful

RE

Reviewer

Staff Manager

Used the software for: Less than 1 year

### "chris 21 Review 2023"

4.0

May 30, 2023

The platform provided a robust HR management solution that streamlined our HR processes and improved efficiency. The reporting and analytics features offered valuable insights into our workforce, enabling better decision-making. While there were a few areas for improvement, the overall experience was satisfactory, contributing to enhanced HR operations within our organization.

Pros

There are several aspects of chris 21 that I found particularly appealing. Firstly, its comprehensive HR management capabilities provided a centralized system for managing employee data, payroll, and leave management, streamlining HR processes. Secondly, the platform's robust reporting and analytics features offered valuable insights into workforce trends, performance, and compliance, enabling data-driven decision-making. Lastly, the customizable workflows and automation capabilities allowed for efficient and tailored HR processes to suit specific organizational needs.

Cons

While this software had many positive features, there were a few areas that could be improved. Firstly, the initial implementation and setup process could be complex and time-consuming, requiring significant coordination and technical expertise. Secondly, the user interface and navigation could be overwhelming for new users, and it may take some time to become fully proficient in utilizing all the features of the platform. Lastly, the customer support response time could occasionally be slower than desired, impacting timely issue resolution.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

RE

Reviewer

Manager

Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Best Available with in budget"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

5.0

5.0

Likelihood to Recommend

10/10

March 14, 2019

Pros

Features is very good and also Customer Support

Cons

Pricing is competitive but justifies with features

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

VR

Verified Reviewer

Reporting Officer

Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "A little outdated visually and hard to learn"

3.0

Overall Rating

3.0

3.0

Ease of Use

3.0

3.0

Features

3.0

3.0

Customer Service

2.0

2.0

Likelihood to Recommend

3/10

September 10, 2025

Chris21 was the first HR system I have used, but having done user testing for many others I see its limitations. It is not easy on the eye, everything has to be done manually and it requires a learning curve or notes for new users to get by.

Pros

We were able to capture everything we wanted and, with some practise, it's easy to download reports.

Cons

It is not at all user friendly and requires a steep learning curve of learning codes to access different screens and so on. Reporting all has to be done manually. Customer service when you ring up are quite rude.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

RE

Reviewer

software engineer

Used the software for: Less than 1 year

### "It works fine but looks very basic"

5.0

November 23, 2023

Pros

We have recently gone on to Chris 21 and it seems to work well.

Cons

The user interface seems quite dated and not very easy to know where everything is.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

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